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| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Agile Bucket System |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Agile Affinity Estimation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an improvement that still has to prove itself in everyday work, the method runs it through small learning loops. It connects planning, checking, and standardization into a repeatable learning mode. | When a large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | 30-90 min | 1-4 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 3-12 | 3-8 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split Candidates | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing |